Angie -- thrilled to see Anthony Marra's book on your list. I saw him last night at a small bookstore -- oddly, it was sparsely attended. But like any good performer, he read to the full seats, not the empty ones.

Kasa - I've recommended that book to almost every reader I know. Thanks again for your review that inspired me to read it. I'm still disappointed that it didn't make it into this years Tournament of Books. I believe more people would read it that way.

Agree. When asked about his process (a question I usually hate), he said when he does drafts, he starts at the beginning and retypes the entire manuscript, tweaking as he goes. It was during the 4th or 5th reworking that he started adding to the histories of minor characters, feeling that he'd lived in that village among them and that they all deserved attention. For me, this is what gave the book its incredible richness. It was that patient attention to craft, amazing for a first time novelist, that made it the special book it is.

I think what I loved the most was the multifaceted nature of the characters. A number of times you would first experience a character from someone elses vantage point and later have the opportunity to find out more about their experiences, often explaining behavior that others did not understand.

He said his next book will be set in Afghanistan

Interesting. I'd love to see what he would do with an American setting too.